Sand Day

Well this is a first. I woke up this morning to an orange hue filling the room. As I went downstairs to get breakfast, every window looked bright orange. I opened the window and saw the haze, and smelled the dust and sand. We were in the middle of a sandstorm.

As I ate breakfast and got ready for work, a few friends who are also teachers started chatting with us. Similar to all of the experiences I had as a child growing up in NJ on a cold winter morning, we speculated as to weather or not school would be cancelled. In those days, it would be due to inches or feet of snow accumulating and making it dangerous for people to drive. For us, it was a heavy settling of sand and particles in the air making it unsafe for people to breathe; and unsafe to drive.

Good thing I had ordered some dust and sand masks a few weeks earlier that arrived the night before the storm. While I look like some gross between Hannibal Lecter, Bane, and a fighter pilot, it works. The mask even has vents that open and close like a fish's gills.

As we got ready the speculation continued. We collected stats as if we were preparing for our own argument that we all knew would never happen. "But most of the kids won't show up anyway. But the air quality is listed as hazardous. But it'll get in the windows of our rooms and infect us like a plague of grit." Then we got the email and the call. School was cancelled, well sort of. We would be holding class anyway, but on a distance learning method. Assignments and lesson plans had to be converted into an online method, and all of our correspondence electronic. Either way, it's a day inside with my wife, protected from the grime, and without a tie.

Jordan

A few months ago, when we were in the thick of a long stretch at school with no break to be seen, I decided that we needed a mental break. We were stuck in a rut of grading, 11-12 hour days working on school stuff in some capacity, and tutoring/coaching in the tiny bit of free time we had. I decided to surprise Shannon with a weekend trip away.

After hearing about the trips of some of our colleagues, I decided to book a trip to Amman, Jordan. I booked private tours to Petra, and Jerash and the hotel, targeted a weekend in May when we would be in the middle of another long run, and told her about it. She was super excited.

When the time came, we got our entry-exit visas, which we need to get approved by the government for all of our trips, and we set off. We left work on a Thursday at 4:00 and went straight to the airport where a two hour direct flight laid ahead of us. We got on our plane and about forty minutes into it, a pleasant man name Jaf, who sat next to me, introduced himself. He told me he was a Jordanian man who worked in Saudi, but whose family lived in Jordan. He was on his way home to meet them for the weekend. I told him about our trip and he gave me his cell phone number and told me to contact him if I needed anything. He wanted us to have a good time. This was the first of many friendly encounters we had with Jordanian people.

When we landed, we went through customs, paid our visa entry fee, and hopped in a cab. When we got in, we realized he spoke no English. I gestured to my phone and showed him the name of the hotel, but he apparently hadn't heard of it, or of the cross streets, or the map. I suppose he wasn't able to read English, which was an oversight on my part. I didn't have a map or directions in Arabic. So we did what anyone would do, we stopped on the side of the street and asked a random stranger where this driver should take us. He was friendly and helpful (theme here) and we were on our way.

When we got to the hotel, we walked into the lobby and found a club. There was a DJ, a bar, and enough cigarette smoke filling the air to set a film noir detective movie. As we shouted to the check-in clerk, he told us that there was a nightly sunset party and it often went late. (It was 12:30am by this point) We thanked him, squeezed in between dancing 20-somethings and went up to our room. After some showers, we turned the lights off and went to bed, exhausted. Little did we know that this room had motion sensors. Every time I would scratch my neck or turn over in bed, as if in an interrogation room, the spotlights above me would turn on and jar me awake. As a person who moves a lot while asleep, I can say I was personally responsible for at least 5 spotlights that woke up Shannon and myself, and at least double that in expletives shouted into the night. We were simply too tired, and it was simply too late to get the hotel staff to come up to the room and fix it. So instead, I slept sat there as still as I could for four hours until it was time to get up.

The next morning, we grabbed some breakfast to go and got picked up by our tour guide. We drove through the rolling green and tan hills of Jordan, smitten to be surrounded by...well green. At one point, we were stopped at a checkpoint and our driver and the officer got into some sort of argument. There was a lot of gesturing, animated conversation, and then ultimately, no problems. The only thing that made it intimidating was his partner stationed in a SUV parked on the side of the road with an AR-15 mounted on a swivel chair on the roof of the car. It was a bit intense for the arguing. In my book, the guy with the AR-15 on his side wins just about every time.

Anyway, as we drove, we chatted with our driver about Jordan, about politics, and life. At one point endured enjoyed this for the remainder of our drive until we arrived at the site for Petra. As we approached on a long, winding road, our driver told us that the road was called King's Road and had been built around the year 1200BC and connected Demascus, Rome, Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt. Then he put in his headphones so he could jam out to his music. We stopped for some bathroom and snack breaks as it was a 3.5 hr drive. At one point, both Shannon and I dozed off due to the lack of sleep from our run in with the Batman spotlight the night before. As soon as we did however, we were awoken by the loud, but smooth tones of one Yanni. Our driver was digging it, and had no idea we were asleep.

When we pulled into the site, we were greeted by a small market selling water, clothes, souvenirs, hats, and scarves. Naturally I got a hat and Shannon got a scarf because why not, and also to protect ourselves from the scalding sun. As we entered the site, we were greeted by a tour guide named Mahmoud and he walked us down into a canyon with sloping walls rising above us. As we walked, he pointed out stone structures that had been used as burial sites, homes, and market areas. We even found a wall that had a cross section of a fossil in the wall from thousands of years prior. As we continued, the walls climbed higher and higher and we saw hand carved windowsills, aqueducts, candle holders, and sculptures lining the walls that rose on both sides of us, as high as 400 feet. As the walls grew higher, the temperature lowered into a cool and comfortable climate, with plentiful shade laying on us like a protective blanket. Our guide explained that the area was inhabited by the Nabatean civilization, and was influenced by the Ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian civilizations. A lot of architecture from each of these was found throughout the site. During its time, the area was occupied by a wide variety of different civilizations as well after the Nabateans. Due to the Nabatean polytheistic way of life, many statues were tributes for their Gods. As other monotheistic civilizations took over, they decapitated many of the statues, which left eerily well preserved bodies of statues with no head.

As we walked, we were passed by horses, camels, donkeys, and the occasional chariot carrying other
tourists down the path.We came around the corner to the famous treasury site and it was absolutely breathtaking. I had seen it in photos, and in movies (shout-out to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) but I hadn't imagined the size, the overwhelming attention to detail, and the magnificence of the facade carved into the building. As we wandered around, countless people tried to sell us on trinkets, souvenirs, camel rides, secret hikes to the "best view" and many other add-ons. Most of the men rode camels or horses and wore heavy kohl on their eyes, which made them look like the Dothraki from the Game of Thrones series. One young boy, who reminded me of Short Round from Indiana Jones, had a really hard time accepting "No Thank You" as an answer and began to follow me around mocking me by saying "No THAAAANNNNNKKKK YOOOOOUUU" and giggling.

I honestly expected the treasury to be the end of the site, but as we continued down the path, we
found our way into an amphitheater, a residential site, a holy worship house, a palace, and countless other fantastic buildings carved into the cliff. We stopped along the way at a small restaurant and had some freshly pressed mint lemonade, and a plate of hummus and vegetables and marveled at the view around us. We wandered around a bit more and then slowly climbed our way out of the lost stone city, up through the canyon, and back to our driver who was waiting with more Yanni to escort us home.

I will say, driving in Jordan was relatively easy. In general, driving in the Middle East is easy, aside from the drivers themselves. The roads are largely unobstructed because...desert, so you can get to most places, even 3 and a half hour away, in less than two to three turns. It's quite convenient.

Quick aside, the day was not easy. There was a significant amount of hiking, intense heat, and no real rest. My wife is a badass. Despite being pregnant, and therefore shorter on energy than she would have been otherwise, she toughed it out and in fact led the way most of the day.

When we got back, we showered and went out for dinner. We came across a great local spot and had

more mint lemonade, and the BEST hummus, grape leaves, and falafel we have ever had. It was incredible. When we were sufficiently stuffed, we wandered the streets of Amman for a bit before heading to our hotel, just ahead of the dance party. We reveled in the days events and the fact that on a random weekend, we just saw one of the World's 7 New Wonders. An early bedtime awaited us, and another adventure the next morning. Don't worry, the motion lights were fixed.

We got up the next day, grabbed some breakfast, and waited outside for our ride. We waited, and waited, and waited. We were concerned about the timing of it all because we had a flight to catch in the afternoon, but wanted to make time to go to Jerash. We had a very tight window to work with. I called the tour company and they realized that they had written down the wrong date for our trip, and had us marked down for the following day. I corrected the mistake and they sent us a driver and decided to comp us a free trip to the airport afterwards.

When our driver arrived, he wore sunglasses to cover his bloodshot eyes and told us he had just arrived after one hour of sleep the night before. Note to all professional drivers out there, don't drive with one hour of sleep. Definitely don't tell your clients that. We were nervous as he drove us across the city and towards the site. Apparently he was kept awake by his NOW That's What I Call Music CD from 2008. The tranquil rolling hills of Jordan were set to the tones of Brittney Spears, Hoobastank, and a few Lil John songs.

When we finally arrived, we were ushered into another market selling random goods, when we came out the other side, we were greeted by a gigantic entrance made of stone and a pathway that was walked upon hundreds and hundreds of years prior.

As we walked through the city we were struck by how real it felt. There were grooves in the stone streets from carriages. There was a hippodrome stadium where gladiators had fought for sport. We were surrounded by streets lined by marble columns, fountains, and statues that all stood, well preserved. We were told that the city was first founded in 1000BC and was built up, changed, improved, and lived in by the Greeks, Romans, and citizens of the Byzantine Empire. It was incredible to walk the streets in front of temples where some of the world's most advanced ancient civilizations created engineering feats that still stood, in front of us, three thousand years later! (Yes I know that the Roman city wasn't 3000 years old, but the city itself was)

As we walked the streets and hills, it was easy to imagine vendors selling hand made goods, people
gathering in the theaters for a play, or in the main hall for a political debate. It was absolutely amazing. It was well preserved, beautiful, and charged with significance. As we left, I was astounded by what we were able to visit over the course of the weekend. Our driver stopped at a local shop for some pita bread and some sort of sour goat's milk yogurt drink that we pretended to have, and we reflected back on our weekend as we went to the airport. We wanted another adventure, and a weekend away from the routine. We definitely found it in Jordan, where we fell in love with the food, the culture, the history, and the people.

Me Tarzan, You Undertaker

This one will be a short one. It was just too weird to not comment on. Last night, Shannon and I went to the mall after work. We had some errands to run and figured it would be better to get them all out of the way in one shot. As we were walking around the mall, she had to stop and go shopping in a store I couldn't go in with her. While she was in there, I got a cup of coffee and sat on the bench outside in the mall concourse area.

I was sitting down minding my own business and reading some stuff from my phone when a man in a brown thobe walked up to be. I looked up and around to see if I was accidentally in his way or something. He said some words in Arabic to me, to which I did as any non-Arabic speaker would do. I gave my most polite and apologetic facial expression and shrugged my shoulders. He asked, "Arabic?" and I shook my head no. He asked, "English?" and I said yes. Meanwhile I was still very confused as to what was happening or why I was his chosen companion for conversation.

He tapped his chest in a very "Me Tarzan" kind of way and said "Jonesena." I took this as some sort of introduction, and tapped my own chest like an idiot and said, "Justin" thus completing the awkward misunderstood greeting ritual. As I wondered what sort of name Jonesena was, or if I had misheard him, he extended his hand for a handshake, so naturally I thought, I have now formally met Jonesena and I shook it back and smiled. He then tapped his shoulders and his chest and said "Undertaker." That's when I got it. He had said "John Cena."

Because I was an American, I must have been interested in WWE and other western culture. In addition, there was a big WWE show in Saudi about two weeks ago. This guy was trying to reach out to me and make a connection with the only way he knew how. Either that, or I was formally challenged to a wrestling match with this man. He grunted and walked away, so I'm not sure if that means I have a new friend, or a date for a battle for the Intercontinental Championship Belt.

After Shannon got out from the store, we walked around some more. When we went into another store, and she tried on a few things, another man in a thobe walked up to me and started speaking Arabic. I responded with my same friendly grin and shrug combo and he replied in English. The conversation went as follows.

"Where are you from?"-Kind Stranger
"The United States of America."-the foolish foreigner
"How long have you been here?"-Kind Stranger
"About 8 months. Are you from here"-the foolish foreigner
"Yes. What do you do for work?"-Kind Stranger
"I work at an International School here."-foolish foreigner
"That is very interesting. I would like to get coffee with you some time."-Kind Stranger
"Ummm...okay. I like coffee."-foolish foreigner
"Do you have kids and a wife?"-Kind Stranger
"Yes, she is in the store."-foolish foreigner
"Did you date her before you were married?"-Kind Stranger
"..." (Trying to carefully answer this...) "Yes...?"-foolish foreigner
"That is great. Love is a wonderful thing. I must go. Please call me and we will get coffee sometime. It was nice to meet you."-Kind Stranger

So now, if I survive my wrestling bout, I may have a new friend who wants to get coffee as a part of some sort of cultural exchange. Both people who I spoke with were kind, outgoing, and friendly. I can't remember the last time I had a single one of those types of conversations with a complete stranger. It was interesting and it was a nice bridge to a different group of Saudis.

Night at the Movies

Big News! The first movie theatre in Saudi Arabia since the early 1980’s opened in Riyadh last month, causing much excitement among Saudis and expats alike. AMC secured a deal be the first cinema company in operation in the kingdom. Until the permanent facility is constructed, the cinema has a temporary home in an auditorium located in the King Abdullah Financial District downtown. The first screening, Black Panther, was invitation-only and the theatre did not open to the public until the following week, debuting the new Avengers movie, Infinity War. My teaching buddy is a movie buff. So much so, that he flies to Bahrain regularly just to be able to go to the cinemas there and see the new releases. Obviously he was thrilled to be  able to secure 3 tickets online and so Justin and I were able to be among some of the first to experience the Riyadh cinema.

Because the financial district is typically not open to the public in general, parking and security

attendants were placed in the traffic lanes surrounding the building and we had to pull over and show our online ticket stubs before being allowed to enter the parking lot. We were then given wristbands and allowed into the parking garage. You got the immediate feeling that this a big deal, as upon parking our car in the garage and walking inside the building, we passed no less than 14 attendants, in suit jackets and ties, greeting us and pointing us in the direction of the theatre. There was a small concession stand, offering water, soda, and either butter or caramel popcorn. Another set of attendants was also handing out complimentary bags of Lays potato chips upon entering the theatre, and marking on your wristband that you had in fact received said chips. Because the theatre is actually a business convention or lecture hall, the floor had a gentle slope from the back of the room to the front. And while the seats didn’t recline, they did come with fold out tables, originally designed for taking notes during a business meeting, but which doubled as excellent table tops for drinks and popcorn.

Because we had no idea what the traffic or seating situation would be like, we wound up arriving almost an hour before the film was scheduled to start. However, the theatre quickly filled up with both young and old couples, some children, and even some groups of young women. As I looked around the gradually filling theatre, I noticed young women wearing their abayas unzipped and several women with their niqabs flipped back and eating popcorn. One young man even walked in wearing a cosplay-style Thanos hand. There was a general buzz and excitement filling the room.
Finally the previews started, and far unlike the 15 minutes of previews one must sit through in the US, this time there were only 3, and they lasted no more than 5 minutes. The first shot was a clip from the 60 Minutes interview with the Crown Prince. He was quoted reminding the interviewer, that back in the 70’s, Saudi Arabia was “like any other country,” with women working, women driving, and movie theatres everywhere. The next clip was a “History of Film and Cinema” piece that offered a moving timeline of major accomplishments in the film industry, making note of significant Saudi filmmakers, and ending with a note that said something to the effect of, “the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, now continuing to make history in film,” and presumably referring to the re-emergence of cinema in the Kingdom. The last and final spot was a Coca-Cola commercial, featuring a father in thobe, getting out of the driver’s seat of his car and handing the car keys to his teen-aged daughter. The father then sits in the passenger seat and cringes in a fatherly way as his daughter attempts to jerkily drive the car. Finally, with the help of Coca-Cola she is able to do so successfully. I thought this was an incredibly and cool commercial and I felt like I was watching something really important happen.

Then we settled in to the almost 3-hour movie, and while there may have been one or two kissing

scenes that were cut from the film, the audience was incredibly fun. They laughed at every joke, (especially a Jesus one!) they booed when the bad guys got an advantage, they cheered when a good guy had a leg up, and they clapped at almost every small victory in the plot. It was so fun! I’ve never experienced such an engaged, happy audience during a movie before.

It was definitely a cool experience and I’m glad we were able to be there for one of the first screenings. Since there is only one screen and theatre at the moment, we may have to wait a while until the next showing comes out. But this was not only fun to experience but also a significant step towards progress that we were able to be a part of.

Some Big News

This blog began as a way for us to document our experiment/experiences as we decided to take the plunge and live abroad. We knew there would be many new challenges, cultural differences, adjustments, struggles, and triumphs. That has all been true, and to the best of our ability, documented. However, this blog has also kind of served as a time capsule for us. It has captured many more moments than what we now consider a part of "living and teaching overseas." It has been a running account of our lives in many ways and included things that had nothing to do with our teaching. We have lost loved ones. We have missed out on family events and milestones at home. We have documented our own travels, adventures, and triumphs that resulted not from our distance from home, but from our daily lives. This blog includes photos from our engagement. It has stories from our families as they came to us for our wedding. It has been some combination of our frustrations and celebrations as foreigners in new lands, a family photo album, and a journal for us to look back upon. It is also a method for us to share our lives and our milestones with those whom we love who live far away. I am incredibly grateful for the way this has evolved into a tool for us and a reflective soundboard for us.

Since this blog has served as all of those things for us, while it has nothing to do with us teaching overseas, we both feel it is important, and appropriate to update our life milestones further. Shannon and I recently found out that we are going to be welcoming a new addition to our family. She's pregnant! It's early, and we have a long way to go, a lot to learn, and a lot of preparation. However, we can speak to the fact that we are incredibly excited, anxious, nervous, and happy.

This blog has served us well over the course of the last five years or so. It has been a place for us to share our news and our lives with everyone we love. We hope those of you who read this are excited for us, and find it worthy as a post to this record of our adventures.

We will be sure to add stories of the absurd, difficulties, and further adventures related to this whole experience.